Itoje: We are here to win, not entertain

MARO Itoje insists he is not worried by England’s World Cup try famine – as long as the wins keep rolling in. 

- ADAM HATHAWAY

George Ford’s boot got Steve Borthwick’s side home against Argentina last week when he kicked them to a 27-10 win.

England did butcher one genuine try-scoring chance but they were few and far between in Marseille and they have a chance to get the ball rolling against Japan in Nice tonight.

Critics have highlighted England’s lack of a cutting edge but Itoje insists the only thing that matters is the scoreboard – not putting on a show.

The lock said: “For me it is by any means necessary. Obviously, we would like to score tries and score loads of tries, but for me it is by any means necessary. As long as we get the win. Every game is different and will present different challenges. I think that the task is to find ways to get on the positive side of the result.

“With any team, but particularly with the opposition we are facing this weekend, the aim for our team is to impose our game on them. We know they move the ball. The goal is to enforce an English style of rugby on this game. We want to throw our best hand and we want to defend it well. We want to impose our physicality.